Lake Russell, Kiwi and former Hollywood pornstar has created an OnlyFans page for men who pay to watch her old porno movies and chat afterwards. Photo / Supplied
This article contains graphic content of a sexual nature which may not be suitable for all readers.
A former Hollywood-based porn star runs an OnlyFans page from Northland, where subscribers around the world chat to her about her old movies.
Lake Russell, 60, made more than 100 adult movies over the course of her career, including Seduced by a Cougar, Milf Bait, and Mother’s Milk.
Russell - who works as a caregiver during the day - sees OnlyFans as a practical way to cash in on her profile from her old movies and publish and create new content for money. She told the Herald most of her subscribers are men aged between 20 and 40 who pay to talk dirty, watch her old movies, and chat to her about them afterwards.
“It’s very low key, there is no sex work involved,” Russell says.
“I’m using old content and talking to old fans and new ones. The point of difference is I am talking to my fans.
“They are kind and complimentary - one fan said, ‘Lake, you are the original MILF. I’ve been a fan of yours since 2007’.”
Russell was born in Wellington and moved to Ōrewa in Auckland when she was a teenager. Her mother - a former model - enrolled her with a modelling agency when she turned 17.
After she left Ōrewa High School, Russell worked with horses and in retail. She also acted and modelled part-time and was an extra in Shortland Street, a New York socialite in Peter Jackson’s King Kong, and had a small part in a local crime drama, Interrogation.
She met her American husband, actor Latham Gaines, in the 1990s when Russell was a 32-year-old receptionist at a Ponsonby beauty clinic and had recently separated from the father of her child. The couple married in 2004.
Russell says Gaines wanted to move back to the States so she sold her house and the couple left New Zealand in 2007 when she was 44 to pursue acting careers in New York and Los Angeles.
Gaines is known for his roles in Xena Warrior Princess, Power Rangers, King Kong, The World’s Fastest Indian, and Bridge to Terabithia.
In her first interview with the Herald, Russell said the newlyweds rented a 1940s stone farmhouse near the woods in upstate New York.
“My dad was a bit concerned we were leaving to go to America, Latham said to Dad, ‘Don’t worry I’ll take care of her’,” Russell said.
“We loved it there but neither of us had work, my savings were dwindling away. I was 44 and we had bills to pay.”
The solo mother had never been a sex worker or been involved in pornographic movies but applied for a job posing for body shots in Miami to make ends meet. The night before the photo shoot she had a gut feeling something wasn’t right. The agent had her and two other women sleep on the floor of his apartment.
“I didn’t think I was going to be a porn star, I was doing body shots, but I didn’t know how it was going to go. The night before I was sobbing in the bath and rang my husband. I said, ‘I really don’t want to do this’.”
Russell’s body shots impressed the producers, so much, they asked if she wanted to film a sex scene. Dressed, in a short black skirt, white T-shirt, lab coat and stilettos, she played the role of a psychiatrist who seduces a young man.
“I like sex, I’ve always enjoyed it and this was my first sex scene. I thought, ‘this guy is hot’, and I was having fun. If you are doing porn in your 40s then you’re pretty much always paired with a 20-year-old hot guy. I had nothing to complain about. He was lovely and respectful, it was euphoric.
“I put my acting training to good use. Every time I made a movie I would look into the camera and make a connection with the viewer. I don’t know if that’s why I was so popular, but I never told anyone in the industry I was doing that. It’s not just about sex.”
She changed her name.
“I dreamed up the name Lake Russell, it made me feel classy like an old-time movie star.”
As Russell’s career took off her relationship suffered. She divorced her husband in 2009.
Russell, who now lives in Northland, says being a porn star was never dull and there was no time to be bored. She says it can be tricky if there is no sexual chemistry with some actors. On a good week, she could earn up to US$30,000 ($49,300) for five movies.
“I never did any sex scenes for less than US$1000 for half an hour. I have been in a scene where I don’t have any rapport but you’re an actor doing a job and you need to put that to one side. You fake it ‘till you make it ... I was never as good as Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.”
She says American directors fell for her Kiwi accent and her ability to take directions. The only thing Russell refused to do was be filmed on stage having sex alone with a mechanical penis.
But the job came with some pitfalls. Once, a male actor demanded rough sex and hit her so hard she nearly collapsed.
“He wanted a bit of rough which I was fine with but then he belted me repeatedly in the ribs. The cameras kept rolling - at the end of the shoot I slapped him on the face - that didn’t make the cut but the whole thing upset me so much it was my last shoot.”
Russell claims to have slept with hundreds of men and about a dozen women and says there isn’t one sexual position she hasn’t tried. She says her screen partners tended to be well-endowed and didn’t rely on Viagra.
“It’s an erection on demand. They hire guys with large penises, one reason is when they are filming a sex scene, the viewer wants to see the penis in action. If you are giving oral sex and the male has a small one, you’re not going to see it, are you?”
After Russell and her husband split, she says she met the love of her life. Herschel Savage, a porn star from the 1970s, was 12 years older than her.
“I needed emotional support. Herschel ended up on a shoot and we fell in love. We stayed in contact when I came back to New Zealand, but he died nine months ago.”
Russell says being a porn star isn’t for the faint-hearted, but producers will respect you if you say no to a sex scene that makes you feel uncomfortable.
“People like to kid to themselves everyone is having a great time and women are having multiple orgasms. That doesn’t happen.”
She says being involved in the sex industry isn’t something to be ashamed about but people should be wary of being exploited by unethical agents.
“If you are young make sure you are well represented by an agent who cares about you. It’s a legitimate profession that pays well. Don’t do it if you have low self-esteem. I did and I regret that. I have more respect for myself now.”
Russell says her family have no problem with her having been in the porn industry and support her new OnlyFans side-hustle.
“Mum said, ’Wow, that’s exciting, that’s really cool.’ I have a child who is 34 and we have no secrets. My family loves me accepts and understands me - I don’t believe in hiding things.”
She is happily single and lives on a lifestyle block with her horses, cats, dogs, llamas and chickens. She has had two short-term relationships since moving back to New Zealand but says neither of the partners could cope with her porn star past.
“I don’t need a male to know my worth. It was gratifying to know being a porn star was worth it. I am proud I still have something to offer at 60, this has been very empowering because I am in control. I don’t wear makeup or have my nails done, I am natural - this is who I am, I am me and if you don’t like it don’t subscribe.
“I am happy I am doing something for myself, and people are getting to know me for who I really am.”
Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland-based investigative journalist. She worked for the Herald on Sunday in 2007-2011 and rejoined the Herald in 2016. She was previously a commissioner at TVNZ and an award-winning current affairs producer for 60 Minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.
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